


The Iron Hoof Cattle Call

by phangelica



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, M/M, and alcohol, and dan is a hitman, but i do not depict any violence, friend with benefits to lovers, it all happens off screen and dan is upset about it, its the sexy cowboys fic ive been waiting for, phil is a bartender with a heart of gold, there is sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23259613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phangelica/pseuds/phangelica
Summary: Dan is a hitman going town to town trying to run away from his past and Phil is a bartender who just wants to help. Set in the late 1800s in the Arizona-Mexico border.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 15
Kudos: 22
Collections: phandomficfests: escape from reality





	1. hope to die

**Author's Note:**

> For the Phandom Fic Fests Escape from Reality Fest Day 2! This is my AU. This also fulfills Day 3 which is anything but a fic because this has a [playlist!](https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-iron-hoof-cattle-call/pl.u-b3b88VBTL72vyo) Links to an apple music playlist. Inspired by Orville Peck (heavily inspired by him), Barry on HBO, and a Fistful of Dollars by Sergio Leone.

Dan rides into town on his trusty horse, Suki. The town is almost a ghost town. There are less than twenty houses, two big ones on each side of town. There also seems to be a distillery and a saloon that also serves as an inn. Dan has been to many towns since the beginning of his journey and this one seems to be less busy than most he’s been to. He goes to the inn first, to get some recon about the town and see if anyone is in need of his services.

He ties Suki out in the stables besides the inn and walks in. Everybody in the inn breaks their neck with the speed that they look over at him. As soon as he makes eye contact with the patrons of the saloon, they all look away pretending they aren’t watching him out of the corner of their eyes. The saloon is filled with men, of course, gambling and talking. All of them with a gun on their hip. 

“Howdy.”

Dan looks up to see the man behind the bar. He’s a tall man, nearly as tall as Dan himself, with pale skin. His hair is styled in a quiff and his face is dusted in freckles all over his nose and cheeks. He has a very friendly demeanor, smiling at Dan while he wipes a cup. 

As Dan approaches the bar he notices the bartender’s eyes. They’re light blue with flecks of green and yellow. They stare into Dan’s unblinking. 

“What can I get you?” Dan recognizes his accent. He’s also from across the Atlantic. Most people in this part of the country are just from the East, having been there for decades. The bartender must have grown up in England like Dan.

“I’ll have an ale.” A hush goes over the bar. Dan’s used to this. Most places react in that way to his accent. The bartender doesn’t even blink an eye. Just heads over to the tap where he pours an ale for Dan. 

“So, I’m guessing you’re not from these parts,” says the bartender as he slides the drink over to Dan. He crosses his arms across his chest and leans into the bar to look at Dan closer. Dan feels like he’s being scrutinized. He wonders how messed up his curly hair got underneath his stetson and how red his face must be from the hot, Western sun. He thinks it’s okay though because the bartender’s face’s a bit red as well. “I’m Phil.” Phil leans back and gives Dan his hand to shake. 

Dan is a little suspicious of Phil already. Why did he come such a long way? He feels rude not shaking his hand though and he hasn’t given him any reason to distrust him yet. And he’s his best bet for some information on the town. 

“Dan. Can I ask you what this town is called? I just came in.”

“This is San Miguel. What do you find yourself around here for?”

“I do some contract work. Who lives in the big houses?” Dan didn’t really want to get into what he does from town to town with whoever Phil was. Especially if Phil was the one who was going to rent out the room to him. 

Phil gives him that questioning look again. Dan tries to keep his face as neutral as possible. He’s done this many times and is sure that he will eventually get the information out of Phil. “Well, the Rojos live on the South side of town in the Mexican-style mansion and the Baxters live on the North side in the Plantation-style house. They control the industry here. The Rojos import the guns from Mexico and the Baxters control the distillery. Why?”

“Looking for work. Also looking for a place to stay. Who do I talk to about a room here?”

Phil gives him a sly smile. “You’d have to talk to me about that.”

“Well, can I stay in a room for a while? I have no money now, but I’ll get some soon. I’ll double the rent for the first night if you give me a day to get you the money.”

Phil looks incredibly unamused. Dan sometimes gets in his own head about all the things he’s seen so he forgets that most of the men in these towns have seen just about everything as well. If Phil doesn’t go for it, though, Dan knows other ways he can be very convincing. 

Phil just stares at him with those unblinking eyes for a couple of seconds before he sighs and rolls his eyes, “You really think I’m just going to say yes? You don’t even have a job yet.”

“I will soon! Please, give me one night. I promise I’ll pay you back. I swear.” Dan blinks his eyes hoping to look slightly seductive. Not too seductive that it gives away the whole game, just seductive enough where someone who was looking for it would see it.

Phil scoffs at him. Shit. Maybe it was a little too obvious. “Okay, whatever. One night.” 

Success. Dan thanks him profusely and goes back to Suki to get his bag. He brings it back in and Phil shows him to his new room for the next couple of weeks. It’s extremely small, just a bed and a desk with not a lot of space in between. Phil explains to him that the kitchen makes breakfast and a small dinner every day but because he didn’t pay for this night, he won’t be allowed to get dinner. When he leaves him, Dan rolls his eyes as the door closes behind him. Some people just want to give him a tough time for no reason. Dan will get Phil his money. He just needs to trust him. Of course, Phil has no reason to trust him but Dan is satisfied with the fact that he will prove him wrong soon. 

As soon as the sun sets, he goes back out on Suki to the Baxters’ house wearing his signature work mask. A mask that covers his eyes with fringe hanging past his shoulders. He chooses the Baxters because they’re closer to the inn than the Rojos. Dan feels nothing for either of these families. Knowing how these types of towns work, these families probably have a rivalry spanning generations over control over the town and blah blah blah. He doesn’t care anymore. Whichever side will pay him is the side he’s on. 

When he gets to the Baxter house, he immediately sees a man on the porch. He’s wearing a sheriffs badge. Crap. This could go very well or very bad. Dan was trying to avoid chance from a couple of rough experiences he had offering his services to the sheriffs but he had already been spotted and he can’t really just turn around.

“Howdy Partner.”

Dan responds to him from Suki’s back. “Howdy. I was wondering if there were any jobs for a sharpshooter like me working here in San Miguel.”

The sheriff tips his hat back and looks Dan up and down. He’s also used to this. Most people don’t expect much. “I don’t know. Depends on your shooting skills. And what you want to shoot.”

Promising. “I’m very skilled, chief. I can prove it to you. Just give me a target.” 

“What about some of those hooligans back there,” the sheriff nods over to some men who appear to be robbing a stable by the town store, “they've robbed those stables yesterday as well. I think everyone in the town would rather they were just gone, don’t you think?”

Dan just nodded silently. He turns around on Suki and faces the grocery store. From this distance, he pulls out his gun aims and hits all three of the men as they ransack the bags from the horses. Three shots only. 

He turns back to the sheriff and stays silent. Dan has always had a flair for the dramatic. Sheriff Baxter lets out a low whistle. “Great job, young man. Do you think you could keep doing those types of jobs for me?”

“Yes, sir. I would need to be paid. And I would like to be paid for this job as well. $80 per body.” An exorbitant amount. But Dan knew he was worth it. And he was trying to lowball the sheriff.

The sheriff scoffs. “$40 per body tonight. We’ll see about your future targets.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dan gives a little bow and lowers himself to the ground. Sheriff Baxter counts his money and hands it over to Dan. 

By the time Dan is heading back to the inn, it’s late at night. He pulls out $20 from what he made tonight to give to Phil tomorrow morning during breakfast. He is absolutely famished but there is not much that he can do right now. For now, he’ll just go to sleep.


	2. roses are falling

Dan wakes up the following morning to the church bells ringing. He gets ready quickly in his nicest denims before heading down with Phil’s money. He hopes he hasn’t missed him, or breakfast. He is absolutely ravenous. 

He washes his face quickly once he’s dressed and looks in the mirror. He has to admit he looks good today. His hair has a nice bounce to it and his skin is also less flushed than it usually is due to the cool nature of the inn. 

He heads down from his room on the second floor of the inn in his bright blue denim jeans with a matching vest over a white t-shirt, clothes he reserves for when he thinks he won’t work. He sees Phil at the bottom of the stairs at the entryway of the kitchen. If Dan isn’t wrong, Phil gives him the once over.

“Like my outfit?” Dan says with a smirk. Dan can’t help himself. He knows he looks good and honestly he hasn’t gotten some in weeks. Since before he left his last town. Sleeping with his inn-keeper wouldn’t be the smartest thing for Dan to do, seeing as he would be seeing a lot of him. Dan thinks he does better in situations where he doesn’t have to see much of the man he’s sleeping with. Dan just ends up getting attached and he can’t risk that again. 

Phil just rolls his eyes. “There’s someone here to see you. They’re outside.” Phil immediately turns his attention back to the scrambled eggs he was making. 

“Wait,” Phil looks up startled. He’s wearing a denim button-down with jeans that are a slightly darker wash. They’re navy blue and they cling to his thighs that go into his western boots. “Here’s the rent for last night and for the rest of the week. Thank you for trusting me.” Dan hands him the money standing closer than is strictly necessary. Dan was never known for making smart decisions. 

Phil swallows once and looks down at Dan’s lips for a millisecond before looking back into his eyes. “Thanks,” Phil counts the money and gives Dan back the extra he put in for the first night without saying a word before putting his money in his pocket and going back to the eggs, “I wouldn’t keep Jon Baxter waiting if I was you.” 

Dan steps back from Phil and heads outside of the inn where a man around his age is waiting on a horse. “Took you long enough. I have a message from my father. He says your next target is Jose Rojo. He's Ramon's nephew and just came into town. He killed some of our men a couple of days ago and we think he should pay. When do you think you can get it done?”

Jumped right into it then. He could see this younger Baxter, Jon, looking him up and down as well. He was of a burly build on a similarly burly horse with a thick moustache and large sideburns and seemed incredibly impatient. Not Dan’s type. “I could have it done by tonight.”

Jon is already getting his horse ready before Dan has even gotten his sentence out. “Stop by the mansion when you’re done. My father likes to thank his hit men in person afterwards.” _Well, duh. I need to be paid._ Jon was getting on Dan’s nerves but luckily he was gone before he could acknowledge his statement. 

Dan was just glad he could finally get some breakfast. Phil is already sitting at the table with two plates made of scrambled eggs and some bacon. Dan appreciated his kindness. He sits down at the table and Phil pulls out a book and starts reading. It was _Middlemarch_ by George Eliot. Dan could leave Phil alone while they ate breakfast but where was the fun in that? 

“Reading up about the homeland, then?” Dan said as he stuffed his mouth with eggs. He really was starving. This is the first proper meal he’s had in weeks. 

Phil looked up from his book and let out a long suffering sigh. “My mother sent it to me with a letter the other night recommending it. She told me it might make me feel homesick. Little does she know that just existing makes me homesick.” 

Phil looked forlornly down at his eggs and bacon. Dan understood him. Life was so different in the west than it was back in England. Much harder. Sometimes Dan regrets coming at all. “I understand. I miss the calmness of England but at least here we don’t have to work in factories,” he stuffed more eggs in his mouth, this time taking a bit of bacon in as well, “Where in England are you from?”

Phil took smaller bites from food. “Lancashire. A town outside of Manchester called Rawtenstall. What about you?”

Dan smiled around his food as he chewed. “From the north, huh. Your accent must have gone down a lot, I couldn’t even tell. I’m from Berkshire. Wokingham.”

“No wonder you sound so posh.”

Dan’s jaw lowered in shock. He was probably giving Phil a really unattractive view of his food but he didn’t really care right now. “I do not have that strong an accent!”

Phil raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “Mate. I haven’t heard a stronger accent in a long while. Probably since I left England. You’re actually the first English person I’ve met out here.”

“Yeah, there aren’t a lot of us. I met one once. He was appraising one of the towns I was in for an investor back in Great Britain.”

“To be a rich investor,” Phil had a wistful look in his eyes, “Do you move around a lot, then?” 

“Yeah. Can’t really stay in one place when you’re in my trade.”

Phil had the intensely curious look in his eyes of someone who doesn’t see a lot of drama. “Which is?”

Dan chuckled a little while trying to get the last morsels off his plate. Phil made a great plate of eggs. He notices Phil pushing his plate towards him across the table. He hadn’t even eaten half of it. He looks up at him questioning. 

“It’s alright. I’ll eat more throughout the day. I’m always snacking behind the bar. Eat it.”

Dan quickly took Phil’s plate and dug in. “Thank you. If you must know, I’m an assassin. I just go town to town and help out whichever is the richest family and leave before their enemies catch up to me.” Dan looked up at Phil who looked a bit shocked. “Is that a problem?”

Phil was startled out of his shock, “No! Not a problem at all. As long as you don’t stain the floors as you come in here, pay your rent, and stay quiet after 11pm we’re as good as gold.”

Dan looked down at the eggs. He felt awkward all of a sudden. He fell for a false sense of security. “Alright. You won’t tell anyone, right?”

“Nope. Have no one to tell honestly.” Phil gave him a sad smile. Dan felt bad. While he chose a life of solitude he could recognize that for many men out here in the west, it wasn’t the best. At least he can keep Phil company for a couple of weeks. Even with this awkward moment, Phil was friendly and easy to talk to. Dan hadn’t found someone he could talk to like this since Tom. But he shouldn’t let his mind go there. “I just didn’t expect it honestly. You look… soft.”

Dan could feel himself blush. He wasn’t sure if it was from the heat or from Phil’s words. He just dug back into his food and tried to finish as quickly as possible. He could tell Phil was staring at him, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. He had a very smug look on his face. It was irritating. “What?” Dan said with his mouth full.

Phil just shrugged. “Nothing. You’re just cute when you’re embarrassed.” Dan’s face burned up again. Even though he doles it out he really can’t handle it sometimes. Especially after getting to know Phil a bit and thinking he may actually enjoy his company. 

Dan got up as soon as the last bite was in his mouth, “Well, thank you for the meal, Phil. When is dinner again?”

Phil started picking up their plates to take back to the kitchen. “I eat dinner at around 8. But I can wait for whenever you come home. It’s just the two of us here.”

Phil really was an incredibly kind man. It made him anxious to think that someone could take advantage of him but he knew it wasn’t his problem. He wouldn’t. “I’ll be back by 8 then. Thank you, Phil.”

“You’re welcome.”

Dan went upstairs to digest his food and think about his breakfast with Phil. Phil was very kind. And Dan won’t pretend he hasn’t noticed how attractive he was. He must be highly sought after here in San Miguel. Dan felt a twinge of misplaced jealousy. He’s spoken to Phil twice now. Phil can do whatever he wants. 

He mainly spent the day in his room, writing in his journal. He liked writing down his misadventures from his days as an assassin. He’s sometimes tempted to write about other stories such as what he went through with Tom but he thinks that when this is all done, he could sell his stories from the wild west. And no one wants to read a love story. 

Once it was dark out, Dan changed into his work clothes, a poncho over dark jeans and he went out to get his job done. It was quite easy. Jose was in his room sleeping by the time Dan got there wearing his mask. The house was completely silent. He quickly got the job done and left before he would be spotted, Suki running like the wind. He got to the Baxter house where Jon and the Sheriff were waiting for him. After the Sheriff gave him his money, Jon seemed keen on Dan staying for a drink but he could tell from the position of the sun it was nearing 8 and he didn’t want to keep Phil waiting. 

He managed to get out but had to push Suki to go faster. He quickly tied Suki and gave her a couple strokes on her neck. He liked giving her affection for all her hard work. They were a team in this. 

Dan hustles into the inn and sees Phil sitting at the table with _Middlemarch_ again. Phil looks up and yelps and immediately jumps up and heads to the kitchen. “What do you want!?”

“Whoa, easy there. It’s me, Dan.” At that moment Dan remembers he has his mask on and quickly yanks it off, along with his hat. 

“Oh my god, Dan! You gave me a heart attack! Is that how you dress when you kill people! It’s nightmarish!” He was breathing heavily, clearly very startled from Dan’s appearance.

“I’m sorry! I forgot I was wearing it. I was in a rush to get over here, I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”

“Oh. Well, thank you. Dinner is done so I’ll just serve them up,” Phil got up awkwardly and headed over to the kitchen. 

When he came back, he had two plates, one in each hand with a delicious looking steak with mashed potatoes on the side. Dan was in heaven. As Phil put the plate down in front of him, he couldn’t resist the moan that came out of his mouth. 

“Oh my god, man,” Phil chuckled and Dan looked up just in time to see his tongue between his teeth before he covered it with his hand, “at least wait until you’ve tried it.”

“Mate. You don’t know the food I’ve eaten. This is definitely going to be better than anything I’ve eaten in months. I promise you.”

Dan quickly digs in and realizes that, yes, this is the best meal he’s eaten in months. The steak was juicy and the mashed potatoes were creamy and together it was just too good it felt like it was an actual orgasm in his mouth. He really couldn’t help the sounds. 

“Could you please stop? Thank you but it’s a bit distracting.” Dan looked up for the first time since he started eating to see Phil looking a bit flushed. Dan smirked but decided that now wasn’t the time to push it. 

“Sorry, I was distracted. This is the best food I’ve eaten in my life, man. You’re an amazing cook!” 

He only succeeded in making Phil blush worse, “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” He waited until Phil looked up and looked into his eyes to say what he wanted to say, “This is amazing, Phil. I’ve been at San Miguel for less than a day but I can already tell it’s going to be much better than all the other towns I’ve been to because of you. Your cooking, your conversation, your kindness. Just, thank you, Phil.” Shit. He got a little too heartfelt there. _Quick, put some mashed potatoes in your mouth!_ He continued to make his orgasm noises and closed his eyes before Phil could respond. 

The rest of the meal continued in relative silence. Dan tries to make less noise but some involuntary moans come out. 

Dan offers to wash up and refuses to take no as an answer. Phil just stands beside him and watches him with a serious look on his face. 

When Dan finishes, he wipes his hands on a towel that Phil has out and before he can say goodnight, Phil asks him if he would like a drink. Dan doesn’t want to turn down a free drink and quickly says yes. He also doesn’t want to turn down some more time with Phil.

Phil pours them both some whiskey straight into glasses. He slides Dan’s over and quickly swallows his down in one. _Shit._ Dan swallows his down as well and slides it over to Phil. He notices Phil grimacing. “What’s wrong?” 

“Just tastes like shite is all.” Phil grins at Dan and Dan devolves into giggles. It seems that Phil’s accent gets heavier when he’s talking just to Dan. He pours them two more but this time starts slowly sipping at his, still grimacing.

“You don’t have anything tastier back here?” Dan has to admit it does taste quite awful. It’s why he doesn’t drink as much as other men around these parts. He much prefers sweeter beverages but you don’t find that around this area at all really. 

“No. I always try to get fruit juices but it’s so expensive and it never sells and the shelf life is awful. I just had to admit to myself it’s not a good investment.” 

“You have to invest in yourself, Phil.”

Phil gives him a sarcastic sort of smile. “Thanks.” 

“I’m just saying! You can’t even drink your own creations! What if we try making tastier cocktails, huh?” Dan can’t bring himself to drink this disgusting whiskey but he wants to and he thinks trying to make new drinks with Phil sounds like a delightful way to end his wretched day. It’s always a bad day when he has to work. 

Phil looks at him skeptically and tries to take another sip but he can’t psych himself up enough. “How?”

“Well, do you have sugar? We can start there.” 

They move their glasses and the bottle of whiskey into the kitchen where they take out anything that can make this taste remotely good. They take out sugar first and try to dissolve the sugar in their whiskey and each take a sip from it.

Both of them spit it out immediately onto the ground and a little on themselves and immediately fall in cackles. Dan can’t keep his hyena laugh in and he’s grateful that no one is nearby. 

“Oh my god, that was awful!” Phil pulls out some milk to drink to mask the flavor, “I mean I love sweet things but that was just beyond!” 

Dan still hasn’t stopped giggling; he's falling down the wall onto the floor. “Oh my god, Phil. Aren’t you supposed to be a bartender! How?!” 

“This was your idea!” 

“I know but you should have stopped me!”

Phil looks down at him with extreme fondness. He feels himself warm at the thought that he’s already gained a place in Phil’s heart. Phil shakes his head and looks onto the counter where he left the milk. “I think I have another idea.” 

They spend 20 minutes brewing coffee and mixing the milk and coffee with their sugar-whiskey concoction and stir it around until it’s one homogenous liquid.

Dan looked at the coffee mixture suspiciously. “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh and we should trust you? Mr. let’s-just-add-sugar?”

Dan just rolled his eyes, Phil can get so sarcastic. “Fine whatever. On three. One, two, three!”

Neither of them take a sip. Both begin cackling again. 

Phil looked at Dan indignantly. “You said ‘on three!’” 

“Well, whatever! You didn’t do it either! Seriously, now-“

“I’ll count down! Three, two, one!”

This time they both take big gulps. They look at each other over the rims of their glasses, eyes wide.

“It’s good!” They’re shocked but incredibly pleased at their creation. 

They continue drinking their spiked coffees until all the coffee runs out meaning they’re both four coffees deep by the time they reach the end of the pot.

“Aww! I want more!” Phil cried out like a toddler, frowning like one too. He stumbles over to the cabinet where Dan can only guess he’s going to get more.

Dan grabs his arm and pulls him away from the cabinet and easily pushes him against the wall. Dan doesn’t have a lot of coordination himself right now and it's the easiest way to get Phil to stop moving. Having Phil pressed against him is just an added bonus. “Easy there, Philly. I think we should cool it now. Don’t you work tomorrow?” 

“I don’t have an early morning. I open at noon on the weekends.” Phil looks up that little distance at Dan. Dan immediately feels something spike within him, the wanting he felt earlier in the day. 

The drinks inside them have them leaning towards each other as if they had planned it. Next thing Dan knows, they’re making out against the wall. Phil grabs onto Dan’s shoulders tightly pressing them closer to the wall and not letting Dan get any distance away. 

Dan tries to separate himself a small distance from Phil’s mouth in order to speak, “Phil…” Dan can barely get the words out before Phil’s chasing his lips and pushing him against the counter. Dan hops up on the counter, knocking over their glasses, and Phil immediately goes into the space between his legs while Dan wraps his legs around Phil’s waist. There’s a desperation to Phil’s kisses that’s making Dan’s pulse go crazier than usual in these types of encounters. He doesn’t even remember what he wanted to say to him. 

Eventually, Phil separates himself, and Dan can’t help himself from attaching his lips to Phil’s neck.

“Shit… Dan. Dan, let’s go to my bedroom, please.” Dan feels heat spike again thinking that they may actually do more than the kissing. Dan doesn’t think kisses have ever driven him crazier than the ones he was sharing with Phil right now. He nods enthusiastically, trying to convey how much he wants to go to his room. 

They can barely keep their hands off each other as they climb the stairs up to Phil’s room on the third floor of the inn. As they stumble through the door and Phil plops himself down on the bed, Dan takes a drunken look around where Phil lives. It’s a little bigger than Dan’s room but not by much. It is big enough to have a full bed where in Dan’s there’s only a twin. He also has a desk that’s incredibly messy but with a small cactus that is right next to the window. He has books stacked all along the edges and it even spills down the sides and into the ground. Dan forgets himself and gasps going down on his knees to look at all the books. He hasn’t seen this many books in one place in a long time. 

“You can borrow some if you want,” He hears Phil behind him rustling and when he turns around he’s almost surprised that Phil’s taking off his clothes. He’s unbuttoning his shirt and Dan forgets the books and jumps onto the bed to help. 

Phil chuckles at Dan’s eagerness as he puts his hands underneath the half-unbuttoned shirt feeling all along Phil’s torso. “You’re so soft, Phil.”

Phil smiles at Dan, “It’s what happens when you stay inside all day instead of murdering people for a living.”

Dan feigns an offended look on his face, “Hey! You weren’t complaining when I paid you a week in advance.” Dan loved talking to Phil but right now, he didn’t really want to talk. 

Once the shirt was opened, Dan immediately went down and started kissing all along his chest. Phil had a patch of hair right in the middle of his chest and Dan couldn’t resist kissing right there. It had a ripe smell of someone who has sweat all day and has not had a chance to rinse off.

Dan keeps his kisses moving, going to a nipple and he immediately feels Phil tense up and release a groan as he falls back to his pillows. They both giggle a little at all the falling over they’re doing but Dan tries not to get distracted from his mission. He continues kissing down his soft, flat stomach until he reaches the button of his jeans. He looks up at Phil and Phil is nodding before Dan even says anything.

He unbuttoned his jeans and helped Phil push them off so Phil is lying in front of him in only his underwear. Even with just the underwear, he can tell that Phil’s incredibly hard. He goes to take them off but Phil’s hand stops him. He looks up with a questioning look in his eye.

“You too.” Dan immediately begins taking off his poncho and all his layers including his underwear. Once he’s completely naked, he looks up at Phil and sees him looking over with wide eyes. 

“Please kiss me,” Phil whispered. Before the words were even out of his mouth, Dan was launching himself towards him and going back to the passion they shared in the kitchen. But this time, Dan could feel all of Phil’s soft skin rubbing against his and it was driving him even more wild than before. He had to taste him. 

He went back down to where he was before and slipped Phil’s underwear off. His cock sprung up to greet him and almost hit him in the face. Dan couldn’t wait any longer and immediately sunk down on Phil’s length. Phil was immediately moaning and put his fingers through his curls. Dan was painfully turned on as Phil was definitely not quiet while Dan sucked him. 

Eventually, Phil started squirming and Dan doubled down his efforts. “Dan, stop.” Dan immediately stopped and looked up at Phil. “Wait… Could I fuck you?”

Dan wanted that extremely badly. He just nodded and went back to Phil’s face to drop a couple of kisses on his face. He probably shouldn’t leave such tender touches but he couldn’t help himself. Phil was just so good and this experience was already much better than the majority of the ones he has had in the past couple of months. 

They kept kissing for a little until Dan got impatient and flipped them over so that he was on his back with Phil hovering over him. Even then, Phil wouldn’t stop kissing him. They kept kissing while Phil blindly reached into his bedside table looking for the vial of oil that Dan assumed lived there. 

They separated only long enough for Phil to reach down and open Dan up. Now it was Dan’s turn to not be able to keep his noises quiet. Phil was stretching him with such carefulness and reverence. He could tell that his nature was just to be gentle and it turned Dan on so much. Phil would drop kisses to the inside of his thighs every once in a while and it made Dan feel like he was on fire. He could tell that he wasn’t just using this as a means to an end but that it meant something to him, even this step.

Eventually, when Phil felt that Dan was opened up enough, he went back to their original position and positioned himself to push against Dan’s opening. Once again, Phil pushed in slowly allowing Dan to adjust to his large size and Dan couldn’t stop the noises he was making. Once he was fully in, he opened his eyes and looked at Dan and told him, “Let me know when I can move.” 

Dan was shocked. Someone had not asked him that in a long time. Dan pulled Phil down for another long, deep kiss, wrapping his legs around him before separating their faces and nodding. Then it was just the two of them, Phil still being gentle but thrusting in with force. Dan cried out everytime he thrust in and hit that spot inside of him that made him sing. When he would look into Phil’s face, he had this look of concentration as he thrust in as if he was actually making an effort to hit that spot. That was also different. 

Eventually it was too much and Dan could feel his orgasm coming. He whispered into Phil’s ear how close he was and Phil reached down to touch him and Dan was done. He was coming and practically screaming into Phil’s ear. Once he was done, he noticed that Phil had stopped moving. 

Dan softly stroked his arm and asked, “Did you come?”

“Not yet. But it’s okay, I'll finish myself outside.” Phil tried to remove himself but Dan tightened his hold on him with his arms and legs.

“No. I want you to finish inside. It’s okay,” and Dan gave him a soft kiss on his bottom lip. Just like that Phil started thrusting faster while Dan whispered encouragement in his ear. Eventually, Phil was making those noises he made when Dan was blowing him and he slumped over him, boneless. 

Phil was panting and Dan couldn’t help but giggle a little. Phil let out a tired groan but eventually got up to go to the pot that was in the corner of the room where he wet a towel he had beside it. He flopped back into bed with the towel and started softly cleaning Dan up. This had been unlike any other hook up than Dan had experienced since Tom. 

“I understand if you want to go back to your room but if you want you can stay here. I don’t really like sleeping alone so I don’t mind,” Phil asked him while wiping his body and avoiding eye contact. 

Dan hadn’t gotten a good cuddle since Tom. “No, I think I’d rather stay here. I’m exhausted. You wore me out, man.” He gave him a smile and tried to get more comfy in Phil’s bed getting underneath his covers. 

Phil must have sensed that Dan wasn’t trying to embarass him and just went into the bed and turned off the lamp beside his bed. He also got into his sheets and then laid awkward besides Dan not touching him at all. 

“I thought you wanted to cuddle.” Dan pouted at him. He really wanted to cuddle but didn’t want to seem weird and clingy. But nothing about Phil made him feel like he was going to think Dan was weird. He scooted closer to him and threw a leg over his body. 

Phil let out a huff and a small giggle and threw his arms around Dan. 

“Goodnight, Phil.”

“Goodnight, Dan.”


	3. turn to hate

The church bells ring early in the morning. For a second, Dan doesn’t know where he is. He feels the sun streaming from a slightly different angle than it had yesterday and it is beyond hot. He’s under more sheets than his bed has. His head is pounding. Probably from all those spiked coffees he had with Phil last night. _Phil._

He opens up his eyes and looks to the side. Phil is sitting up, still naked from last night, reading _Middlemarch._ It seems like every chance he gets he’s reading that damn book. Phil seems to not have noticed that Dan is awake yet so Dan takes the moment to look for a little bit. 

Phil somehow has gotten more handsome in the night. His hair is still all messed up from the sex and his skin is glowing in the morning sun. Dan thinks back to last night and he remembers how different it felt with Phil. He hadn’t felt that way in such a long time. It was like Phil actually cared about him. 

The last time he felt like that was when he was sleeping with Tom. It must have been a year ago. Or more. It’s hard to keep track of time while on the run. It was back when he had just arrived in Texas. He was trying to earn a living gambling. At one of those gambling tables was where he met Tom for the first time. 

Tom was different from the other men around town. He would talk to Dan and actually get to know him. The other men typically just wanted Dan to have sex with them and they would leave him as soon it was over. They didn’t even care if Dan got off or not. Tom actually wanted to know how Dan was and he cared how he felt.

Tom had moved to Texas to make more money for his family back home. Dan had known he had a wife and two daughters. It was one of the first things they talked about actually. His wife was called Carol and his daughters were Jane and Elizabeth. Tom talked about how he felt like he loved Carol but that there was something missing.

Tom’s favorite thing to read were romances. Every time Dan found one he would always make sure to bring it to Tom so he could read it. Tom would tell Dan that he always wished that he could find someone that he felt the way that the characters in his favorite Austen novels would about their loved ones. Tom missed his daughters. Frequently. Tom truly loved them and he would cry in Dan’s arms about them often. 

They started having sex a couple weeks into their friendship. It wasn’t unusual. Most of the men here had sex with each other but with Tom it was different. When he was with Tom, he felt seen. In the bedroom and outside. When they were at the saloon, Tom always knew what to order Dan and he remembered all his stories and all the people he would talk about.

While it wasn’t unusual to have sex with each other, most people here in the west did not make it a habit to sleep with each other repeatedly. Having sex with each other was okay but falling in love definitely wasn’t. Tom wanted to sleep with Dan again. And again and again. But not only that he wanted to spend all his time with him too. They talked about everything and anything. 

Dan told him about growing up in Berkshire. How he had never had a woman because he didn’t like them. He was pretty sure he only liked men. He told him about the school he went to where the other students would attack him for his “fanciful” ways. About how he tried to go to law school but he couldn't because he realized he was doing it for his father and not himself. He decided to go to America soon after.

He felt as if he was living in his own romance novel. Not only did he love Tom, he knew that Tom loved him. One night after having sex, Dan couldn’t keep it in anymore and he told him. He told him he loved him. And Tom said it back. Dan was pretty sure he had never felt happier in his entire life. 

They became an item after that. Dan didn’t sleep alone for a month. Dan was truly in love and he didn’t regret his decision moving to the west. Tom told him that Dan was what was missing. That Carol didn’t compare to Dan. At all. That he was pretty sure that he was like Dan. 

It was great. Until it wasn’t.

One day, Dan went to Tom’s place after getting some groceries from the shop. Tom wasn’t expecting him. He wanted to surprise him so he bought some stuff to make his favorite meal, beans and jerky. He went up to Tom’s room and found him packing up all his stuff. Dan was confused, asked him where he was going. Tom told him that it was over and that he was headed back west to be with his wife and daughters. That being here in the west was only ever going to be temporary. That Dan was an idiot for thinking that they were anything. That they were only ever playing pretend. 

Dan cried and begged him to stay. But he knew it was no use. Dan was an idiot. He knew that Tom had his daughters back home waiting for him. He was an idiot to think that Tom was the happy ending he was waiting for when it was so clear that Tom was right. 

Since then, Dan’s kept his distance. Made sure not to fall in love. Hasn’t stayed in one place for too long. Soon after Tom left is when he started contract killing. He realized that he was quite shit at gambling and he was being supported mainly by Tom and what he made in the mines. It turned out he had a natural talent for shooting.

Although he had the talent, contract killing wasn’t in his nature. Dan was a pacifist. He hated hurting people. But he didn’t know what else to do. He had nightmares about all the people he killed and he thought about their lives and their loved ones and they haunted him but he was trapped. He preferred this existence than the one with Tom. Where it was all a lie. 

So, these thoughts about Phil, looking beautiful in the sunlight or whatever. They’re going to have to stop. Right now. He honestly shouldn’t have sex with him again but after the sex they had last night, Dan wasn’t looking to give that up any time soon. And he doesn’t want to lose Phil as a friend either. 

Phil eventually looks down and jumps when he sees Dan staring at him. “Oh my god! You are so creepy, you know that?” He was smiling so Dan thought he didn’t really mean it.

Dan tried to not smile but Phil’s smile was contagious. “Sorry.”

Phil put down his book and went down so that he and Dan were eye level again. “Sleeping beauty finally woke up.” 

Not getting attached to Phil was going to be hard. Now that he was looking into those beautiful eyes again, he couldn't resist leaning in and giving him a kiss. In the moment right after, he felt so scared that he was messing everything up and he can feel himself look at Phil wide eyed, unsure if he’s done something wrong. 

Phil just gives him a soft smile and leans back in and kisses him again. “Last night was nice.” Phil strokes his arm as he says it.

“Yeah, once we figured out that recipe for those coffees.” Dan stuck his tongue out at Phil. Phil just giggled and rolled his eyes in response. 

“Yeah, thank god for the BARTENDER! Am I right?” Dan feigned shock.

“That was blind luck and you know it!” They both started laughing again. Dan hasn’t laughed this much in a long time. Tom didn’t make him laugh this much. But he shouldn’t go there. “Seriously though. Thanks for last night. We should do it again sometime.” Dan tried to look seductive but by the look on Phil’s face he just looked ridiculous. Looking ridiculous in front of Phil didn’t bother him that much though.

Phil just laughed at him. But not in a mean way. Dan was pretty sure Phil was incapable of doing anything in a mean way. “We should.”

He and Phil stayed in bed for hours. They talked about Phil’s book and what types of things made him homesick and what types of things didn’t. Reading about the types of food the characters ate made Phil miss home but reading about some of the religious hypocrisy definitely didn’t. They talked about Dan’s favorite book, Les Misérables, as Phil had a copy underneath his desk. They talked about how they missed trying foreign foods back in England. It felt like they could keep talking for days but eventually Phil had to open the saloon. 

It was only then that they got dressed. It was slightly awkward as Dan found his clothes but by the time they said goodbye, Dan knew that regardless of whether or not Dan fell in love with him, Phil was going to change his life for good.


	4. nothing fades like the light

They continue like that for weeks. San Miguel becomes the place Dan has stayed in the longest since he left Tom. He tells himself that he’s going to leave soon almost everyday but he hasn’t found a reason to leave yet. Because of his mask, the Rojos don’t know who he is. He’s not in danger from them. The Baxters give him a new assignment almost everyday.

The assignments exhaust him. Every night after having to do a killing, Dan goes back to the inn with Phil and lets him take his mind off it. Whether it’s through sex or through just talking with him, Phil always makes him feel better.

He can tell Phil is concerned. When he has particularly brutal killings, he sometimes can’t even get out of his bed. Those days, Phil takes care of him and tries to make sure he drinks water and eats something.

Dan doesn’t want to concern Phil but he doesn’t know how to cope with the guilt he feels inside himself. That’s why on days he’s not in the hole, he does his best to try to seem enthusiastic for Phil’s sake. 

That’s why he’s here with Phil at the shop. Yesterday, Dan didn’t get out of bed once. Jon Baxter came by the inn to give Dan an assignment but Dan told Phil to tell him to fuck off. He knows they’ll come by the inn later in the evening to give it to him but for now, he’s feeling better and when Phil asked him if he wanted to go to the shop with him, Dan didn’t have it in him to say no.

Phil was overly-excited that he decided to come with him. He was making all types of jokes with all the cans at the store and nudging at Dan making up stories about the other people in the town. Dan was still feeling a little empty inside but Phil’s jokes were making him smile. Phil always made him smile. 

By now most people in the town have noticed Dan and Phil’s friendship. Dan is more of a mysterious person to the townspeople. They only know of Dan when he bothers to leave his room and goes down to the saloon to help Phil out during the day. Most people gave them the side eye thinking their relationship was a bit queer. It made Dan uncomfortable that people were paying attention to them but Phil never batted an eye and it made him feel better.

Jon Baxter always made snide comments about Dan and Phil. Because he comes by the inn often and is one of the only people in town who knows that Dan is the Baxters’ masked hitman, he constantly mocks him and Phil. Dan knows that Jon wanted to sleep with him and he propositioned him during the first week Dan was in town but Dan rejected him. It didn’t feel right sleeping with someone else while he was sleeping with Phil. It wouldn’t be the same anyway. 

Since then Jon has to make a comment every time he sees Dan and Phil together. Today they have the bad luck of being in the store when Jon walks in. 

Jon lets out a low whistle as soon as he spots them. “Well, isn’t it the lovebirds?”

Phil just smiles at Jon and gives him a wave. The smile doesn’t reach his eyes though. “Howdy Jon. What are you doing in the shop today?”

“Just getting some food that my mother asked for. You two planning a romantic dinner?”

Dan was looking down at all the cans. He hated when Jon said things like that. He and Phil weren’t lovebirds. It was frustrating that Jon had so many things to lord over him. 

Phil just gave a light hearted scoff. “Just getting stuff for the bar. Dan came to keep me a little company.” Dan doesn’t understand how this stuff doesn’t get to him.

Jon was grabbing all his cans while Phil talked, barely paying attention. “Alright. Dan when do you think you’ll be back in the inn? I need to tell you something.”

Dan knew it was an assignment but he hadn’t fully recovered from the last one and he wasn’t sure he was ready for a new one.

“Actually, Dan was going to come with me to San Jose to get some milk from the cows, so I don’t know if he’s going to be home tonight. We’ll be back tomorrow.” Dan looked up from the beans in shock. Phil was packing up his bag with beans not looking at him or Jon. 

“Is that right? Well, Dan, maybe stop by our house before you guys leave for San Jose. My father needs to tell you something.” Jon quickly paid for his cans and stalked out of the store. 

“What the hell, Phil! You didn’t tell me we were going to San Jose!” Phil still wouldn’t look at him. 

“Let’s just go back home and put away our groceries and I’ll tell you about the cows in San Jose,” Phil finally looks back at Dan, “they’re really cute!” He knew how to read Phil by now and he could tell the enthusiasm was forced.

Dan was confused but he decided not to push it here in the store where Jerry the store keeper could hear them. 

When they got to the inn, Phil still wouldn’t talk to him. He silently put away the stuff they had gotten from the shop.

“Phil, what the hell. Why did you tell that to Jon?” Phil takes a deep breath and looks over at Dan. 

“Dan… when are you going to stop this whole killing nonsense? You know it’s not good for you. It’s ruining your life.”

Dan was shocked. He had no idea Phil felt this way. “What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about? Dan, I can see you not get out of bed almost every other day because of what the Baxters make you do.”

Dan started getting frustrated. “Phil, stop. You know nothing about what I do. Stop inserting yourself in places you don’t belong.” Dan tried to leave but Phil stopped him, blocking him from the stairs. “Phil, move. I have to change and go to the Baxters, if you really want us to go to San Jose let me just finish up with the Baxters and we can go-”

“Oh my god, I don’t care about San Jose! Don’t go to the Baxters! You don’t want to do this, I know you don’t!”

“Oh, you know me better than I know myself?”

“I don’t know you better than you know yourself, I just know you and I know that you don’t want to do this. You’re not violent! I don’t understand how you’ve been able to do this for this long!”

“Why do you even care! What I do pays for my room so-”

“Oh my god, how do you think I care about that! You haven’t slept in your room in weeks! Are you really so dense to not realize that I don’t care about any of that!”

“What are you even talking about?!” Dan was so confused why Phil was acting so invested. They were obviously friends but Dan doesn’t know how Phil doesn’t care about Dan making money.

“Oh my god, Dan…” Phil finally got out of Dan’s way but he looked so upset, Dan couldn’t bring himself to go upstairs and put on his mask. Phil was rubbing his hands over his face. He had never seen him look so frustrated. “Do you really not realize that I’m in love with you?” Phil whispered, not looking Dan in the eye.

Dan couldn’t breathe. He was shocked that Phil said that. Of course Dan had realized that he was passing the line a long time ago with Phil but he couldn’t believe he could feel the same way about him. He just scoffed at Phil. “You don’t feel that way.” He turned around and started going up the stairs.

“Wait, what?” He heard Phil chase after him but he continued to his room where he put on his mask and hat. It was impossible for Phil to feel that way about him. Dan was a murderer. Many, many times over. He was a downer to be around. Phil just said it, there are many days where he can’t feel anything. There’s just no way that Phil could love him.

He turned around to start leaving and Phil was right there. “How can you say that? Now who thinks they know me better than I know myself.”

“Phil, please just get out of my way. I need to go to the Sheriff’s house.” Dan said devoid of emotion. Phil stepped even closer to Dan and put his hands on his face and forced Dan to look into his eyes. 

“Dan, please don’t go. How can you think I can’t love you? You’re… you. You make me laugh harder than anyone else has in my entire life. Being with you is when I’m the happiest. You’re so intelligent and you make me think of things that I would never think of on my own. And even when you’re in your dark spaces, I just want to be near you. Seeing you in pain is worse than myself being in pain. That’s why I don’t want you to do this anymore. I can’t handle it.”

Hearing Phil say all that, Dan couldn’t help the tears that leaked out of his eyes. Although Tom had told him he loved him. Something about Phil told him it was different. Dan just pulled himself closer to Phil and asked him, “Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I mean it! Dan… I’ve loved you since that first week. And I’m not just saying that. I’ve known I’ve only loved men since I was young enough to realize. I’m not just saying you’re like my ‘western girlfriend’ or something. I truly love you.”

Dan just pulled back and gave Phil a kiss. “I love you too, Phil. So much. I’ve never felt such kindness from anyone before in my life. I feel lucky to have met you.”

Phil kissed him again. Every time they kissed was amazing but this time was different. It was like now that it was out there in words they could kiss with all the emotions they’ve both been feeling this whole time. When they separated Phil spoke right against Dan’s mouth, “Please, don’t go to the Baxters.”

Dan could only sigh. He didn’t want to leave Phil but he also knew he couldn’t not go to the Baxters house. They’ll come for him and Phil. And that wasn’t an option anymore. He lowered his head down to his shoulder. “I have to go tonight, Phil. I can’t not go. They’ll hurt me and you. I need to keep us both safe.”

Phil separated himself from Dan and just smiled sadly at him. 

Dan forced himself to leave Phil and went out to get Suki and ride to the Baxters’ for one last hit.


	5. dead of night

Dan gets to the Baxters house at half past ten and Jon is sitting out on the porch chewing tobacco. 

“Look who decided to show up. What happened to San Jose?”

“Where’s your father?” Dan didn’t feel like playing games tonight. 

“Jeez, what’s up your ass? Besides Phil of course-” 

At that Dan couldn’t help himself and he shot at Jon, purposefully missing by a hair. “Where is he?” 

Although Jon liked to act like he was tough on the big horse, Dan knew he actually didn’t even know how to shoot. He cowered when Dan shot at him and just pointed in the house. 

Dan quickly got off Suki and ran inside to go to the Sheriff’s office where he often was when Dan came by for assignments. 

He walked in and the Sheriff was sitting calmly at his desk reading a book. “What was all that noise you were making outside?”

“Can you just give me the assignment? I’m tired.” Being in this house drained all his energy. It just reminded him of every time he would go in there and be forced to kill another person. 

The Sheriff looked up and just huffed at him. “Want to get right down to business, I see. That’s fine. I don’t pay you for small talk. At least tell me my son is alright.” He didn’t look too concerned. 

“He’s fine. Who’s my target?” 

The sheriff got up from behind his desk and walked over to Dan. “Your target is Rosamaria Diaz. She’s the bride of the Rojo son. The wedding is tomorrow. They brought her over from Mexico to marry them. They thought they could raid our distillery for the alcohol but they have another thing coming… I would have prefered if I could have given you this assignment yesterday so you would’ve had time to prepare but we must make do with the things we have.”

Baxter had the audacity to look upset at him. Dan just rolled his eyes and turned to leave his office. Before he could leave, the sheriff stopped him and asked him to promise it will be done tonight. Dan just silently nodded and left the mansion. 

As he rode Suki back to the stables by the inn where she would be safe, he thought about his new assignment. He justified his actions to himself by thinking that all the people who he took out were either terrible people who killed people also or were going to find themselves killed anyway regardless of Dan’s involvement. But Rosamaria was an innocent bystander. She probably didn’t even want to marry Ramon, Jr. It made him sad to think about hurting someone who couldn’t even fight back if they wanted to. But he knew it was his only choice if he wanted to get out of this arrangement with the Baxters and be able to leave town hopefully with Phil by his side. 

Even through the terribleness of his assignment, the thought of Phil made him smile and made him more determined to end things with them once and for all. This assignment just proved that they were heartless people and the quicker Dan got away from them, the better.

He arrived at the Rojo mansion and could hear that they were celebrating inside. This would be a trickier hit than all that came before it. He snuck around to their backyard where the Rojos always threw their parties. He looked from the shadows and saw that all the Rojo men were in the backyard. The women must be inside with the bride. He prayed that none of them were in the room with her. He wanted no collateral damage.

He went up the way he always went up, climbing the bricks on the side of the house that led to a loose window to an office. He has never seen anyone in here and it was dustier every week. He rolled his eyes at their sloppiness. 

As he walked through the quiet house, he kept a look out for any guards that the Rojos may have put out to protect Rosamaria. There didn’t seem to be any. They probably didn’t think that anyone would try to kill an innocent woman before her wedding day. Dan felt like he was going to be sick. 

He knew he reached the largest guest room in the mansion from his many recon missions and he hoped that Rosamaria would be in there. He quietly opens up the door and walks in on a young woman, couldn’t be older than twenty, on her knees praying a rosary at her bed. When he walks in she immediately looks up and starts to scream. Dan leaps up immediately and before she can make much noise, he has his hand over her mouth.

She’s clearly panicking and shaking in his arms. Dan was in the perfect position to strangle her right now. But he looked into her eyes and knew that he couldn’t do it. More than couldn’t do it, he wouldn’t do it. Someone who is loved by Phil Lester does not kill innocent girls. They just don’t.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you. If I take my hand off, will you scream?” She just looked blankly at him. _Shit._ She doesn’t speak English. Dan didn’t speak a lot of Spanish but he knew a little from his travels around the west. “Um… no gritar. Por favor?” He hoped that got the message across.

Her eyes widened and she nodded violently. He let her go and she immediately went on top of the bed and put a pillow in front of her. He felt bad for her. She was so helpless and terrified. But Dan was encouraged by the fact she didn’t scream.

Dan gave her a thumbs up and asked, “Estas bien?”

She launched into Spanish, “Por favor, señor, ayudame! Yo no quiero estar aquí! Me llevaron de mi casa y solo quiero regresar a ellos! Ayudame!”

That’s a little more advanced than Dan knew. He thinks he caught a few words though. Ayuda means help? “Vamos?” He pointed to the door and hoped that she understood him. 

She nodded vigorously again. Dan knew he was going to take Rosamaria away from here. “Okay, vamos.” 

He grabbed her hand and took her out of the room. He checked to see if anyone was there first and led her back to that office with the loose window. He showed her the bricks she should put her feet on and let her go down first. While getting ready to go down himself, he hears someone clearing their throat behind him. He turns around to see a Rojo cousin standing there with a shotgun. 

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here. The masked hitman. My uncle is going to be so happy-” Before he could finish what was definitely going to be a mediocre henchman speech, Dan pulls out his gun and shoots him in the foot. He cries out in pain and drops his gun in the process. Dan pushes him over and leans down and grabs the gun. 

He points both to him and heads towards the window. “Tell your uncle I’m done.” 

He jumps out the window and climbs down the wall where a very scared looking Rosamaria is standing. The party in the backyard has started dissipating probably from the sound of a gunshot inside. 

“Okay, I know you don’t understand me but I’m going to need you to trust me. Do you trust me?” He looked into her brown eyes and, before she could respond, scooped her up in his arms and started running towards the border where the importers are. He gets to the man who goes down to Mexico, only 15 miles south, and tells him about the situation with Rosamaria. Luckily, he speaks Spanish and is able to communicate with her so that he can smuggle her back into Mexico without the Rojos knowing. 

He feels good about leaving her with the exporter but now he knows he’s screwed. He was seen by the Rojos and they’ll know that they helped Rosamaria escape and Baxter will know that he didn’t complete his job. Which means he has to leave town. Now.

He takes off his mask and runs back to the inn while trying to call the least amount of attention to himself. He gets to the inn and sees all the lights are off. He runs up to the second floor and quickly grabs his stuff. He goes up to the third floor to see Phil up with the candle with his book. 

“Dan! You’re home, finally-” He moves to get up but before he can reach him, Dan pushes past him to get a bag and start putting some of Phil’s clothes in there.

“We have to go Phil, now.” He grabs a couple of shirts and pairs of jeans and stuffs them in the first bag he sees.

“Whoa, Dan! What happened?” Phil looked nervous now as if he just noticed how frantic Dan was behaving. 

“What happened was that you got in my head. I couldn’t complete the assignment. So now, we have to go.” He grabs his book off the bed and stuffs it in the bag too, knowing he can’t take all the books that Phil probably wants. 

“Wait, what? We can’t go, my whole life’s here! What about the saloon? Or all my stuff?”

That gives Dan pause. He thought Phil would want to be with him after everything they said to each other earlier in the night but maybe he thought wrong. This could be Tom all over again.

“Well, you don’t have to go anywhere. I’ll go.” He turns around to stalk out before Phil can see the tears welling up in his eyes. 

“No! Dan, stop.” Dan grabs his arm and stops him from going down the stairs.

“Phil, I can’t stop, they’re going to come for me and for you! Can’t you hear it?” They both got quiet and could hear all the commotion going on just outside the building. 

“Well, if you’re going, I’m going. I was just caught off guard is all,” Phil dragged Dan closer to him to give him a solid kiss. “I’m going to grab my stuff.”

“Okay, hurry.” Dan went down and saw from the front window the Rojos going to the Baxters. He had to get out of there before the Baxters realized. 

He’s tying his bag to Suki when Phil comes out holding the bag that Dan packed for him. He gets on and helps Phil get on behind him. Suki goes at a trot out of town, trying not to call attention to themselves and both Dan and Phil stay quiet, Phil’s arms wrapped tightly around Dan’s middle.

By the time the town is a small speck in the distance, Phil speaks up. “Have I ever told you that I’m afraid of horses?”

Even though he should be quiet, Dan can’t help the cackle that comes out at that moment. “Literally, how. There are so many!” 

“I know! Their spindly legs just freak me out!” 

“Hey! Don’t call Suki’s legs spindly, she’s insecure about that.”

“Sorry, Suki.” 

Although they were riding in the cold, dark night with only each other to rely on for warmth not knowing when the next town will be, Dan felt confident it was all going to be okay because they’ll always be Dan and Phil, making each other laugh and smile even in the worst circumstances.

**Author's Note:**

> [reblog on tumblr :-)](https://phangelica.tumblr.com/post/613312525417791488/the-iron-hoof-cattle-call)


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